Journeys
by Alqualyne
Summary: An island forbidden to foreigners. An illegitimate princess. A childhood tale and a voice in the dark. This is Alaerec’s story.
1. Author's Note

This story will be told in segments, snippets, drabbles, whatever you'd like to call them. The reader fills in the blanks. I feel like this is the best way to tell the story I've dreamed up, and I hope you like it as well. Obviously, there will be an unholy amount of chapters (since each chapter is all of a paragraph long!) but I hope this will work and that all you readers will still review and tell me what you think.

This story has a lot of inspirations. Jaipur is a cross between Sri Lanka (being an island) and India (most of the cultural references). It being a "forbidden" island to foreigners and Alaerec sailing to essentially open it up is shamelessly stolen from 1800s Japan and Admiral Matthew Perry of the United States who sailed with "four black dragons" (gunboats) into Tokyo's harbor. I'm exploring issues of colonization/modernization along with Alaerec's character development and Anjali- a character I've invented, replete with flaws and ambitions, who I adore and hope you will as well.

The inspiration for the format I entirely credit to Vega-de-la-Lyre and her eloquent, gorgeous "One Hundred". I love all these small drabbles that speak so much, and hit upon the idea of telling just one story that way instead of many.

I should clarify Jaipur's messy politics here: it won't make sense until a few chapters in, so come back and read this when it comes relevant. Anjali is an illegitimate daughter of the king (her mother was a mistress). She is still a princess, but her younger half-sister, Radhi, is actually the heir to the throne. Queen Rani is the brains behind the royalty as well as Anji's surrogate mother, because the king is… well, a total douche bag.

So. That's my explanation. Let's start the story.


	2. Chapter One

When Alaerec was small and his bedtime near, his father would always read him one story before he slept. As the crown prince of Remalna, Alaerec had an extensive collection of books to choose from. But night after night, he would always choose the same small, leather-bound book, its pages worn and tattered from his love.

His father would inevitably sigh and ask him if he was sure there wasn't any other book that he'd like to read- perhaps the gilded one the Sartoran ambassador had given him? But Alaerec would stubbornly shake his small blond head, sink into his bed, and his father read aloud to him words that he knew by heart:

_No outsiders were ever allowed on the hidden island of Jaipur. Its merchants came to foreign ports, but talked little and left quickly. Any ships that followed them were promptly sent back._

_But one day, somebody set foot on the mysterious island…_


	3. Chapter Two

Two decades later, Vidanric was not surprised as his son (taller now, but still so much the same, he thought wistfully) stood in front of his desk and volunteered to head an expedition to open Jaipur to Remalna's merchants.

Remalna was economically fragile after the long wars; Jaipur's refusal to allow foreigners on its shores had not been questioned until the assistant to Remalna's chief of economic affairs, bored during a meeting, had lazily calculated how much Remalna could profit from a bilateral trade agreement.

Jaipur, with its brown-skinned merchants who came, sold a few goods and left quickly, was an economic dream waiting to happen. Vidanric sighed. His wife would not be happy, but she knew as well as he the way Alaerec's eyes looked as he spoke of Jaipur, and neither would refuse. _I hope you find what you seek, my son_, he thought as Alaerec left, strongly, confidently. _But I fear you are only chasing a childhood dream_. He turned to his papers.


	4. Chapter Three

"They've not killed foreigners yet," Nadav mused, and Alaerec decided that his friend had an odd way of reassuring him.

"Thank you," he said dryly. "That fact is very encouraging. I especially like your use of the word 'yet.'"

Nadav grinned. "They've just sent everyone back. I wonder why they don't allow outsiders in."

Alaeric shrugged. "Xenophobia? I've wanted to see this island since I was four," he said. "And I don't care to leave without a trade agreement."

"If I recall correctly, your father's words were to leave if they threatened you in any way," Nadav retorted. "I think he cares more for your safety than for any trade agreement. I'm still amazed he let you go."

Alaeric grinned. "He was the one who read me the bedtime stories. He's at fault for this, anyway."


	5. Chapter Four

Anjali would forever remember the stormy day. She had been sitting in a breezeway, reading and occasionally looking out through the wood screens at the ominous clouds. When she finally heard the telltale sound of the rain slapping against the palm leaves, she sighed. Picking up her sari, she ran inside- and promptly ran into Radhi.

"Mother says you're to change your sari," her half-sister said abruptly. "Into one of the formal ones."

"Why? I only wear those for-"

"A ship was spotted on the horizon this morning," Radhi interrupted, impatience and tension in her gestures and posture. "It landed in port a few hours ago."

Her breath caught in her throat. "Not one of ours?"

"No."

She gaped at her sister. _Everything will change_, her mind whispered. She had waited her entire life for an event like this- why did she feel so terrified?


	6. Chapter Five

Alaerec watched the small blur on the horizon come into view from the deck of the Remalnan naval ship. _Jaipur_. He had endured months of seasickness and maggots, salt and bad food for this. The mysterious island of his childhood was now in sight.

He remembered the storybook, the maps, the dusty tomes he had found that vaguely mentioned Jaipur. He would be the first foreigner to step foot on the closed-off island in over a century. A thrill ran through him and despite the tropical air, he shivered.


	7. Chapter Six

The port was also a considerably large city, and Alaerec could see thatched roofs and stone buildings beyond the docks. Squinting, he thought he could make out a palace on a distant hill. _They're so closed-off I don't even know the names of their royalty_, Alec thought. Why would such a place, rumored to be filled with jewels and gold and other exotic luxuries, voluntarily close itself off from the world?

The clouds covering the sun should have warned him. The ship finally docked, and Alec prepared to disembark. Before he could even set foot on the gangplank, he was surrounded by ten brown-skinned men holding scimitars. Looking back, he saw his crew similarly surrounded. He held his hands up. _And so we begin_, he thought wryly to himself.


End file.
